<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Fun #language deep dive.]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p>Fun <a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/language" rel="tag">#<span>language</span></a> deep dive.</p><p>The Dutch word "aardig" conventionally means "friendly" or "kind".  However, if we look at this through cognates, it could be translated as "earthy". <br />Aard-, that first syllable, can mean earth, but also one's nature, and in some words, one's orientation, which synonymizes with being grounded, as in an electrical system.<br />Aard can also mean "descent",  which is where we get even deeper into the weeds. For one, this is likely where our friend "aardig" came from; aardig = of high/noble descent became friendly/kind. <br />In the word "eigenaardig", which now means "odd" or "strange",  we see influences of this meaning as well, meaning as much as "having a character of one's own", which is amusing if we compare it to similar words in other languages, most notably "idiot" which comes from ancient Greek "idiotes", which means "private person". </p><p>Moral of the story: Being your own person and going against what is expected of you has been made to feel bad. Do it anyway! <img src="https://board.circlewithadot.net/assets/plugins/nodebb-plugin-emoji/emoji/android/1f61e.png?v=28325c671da" class="not-responsive emoji emoji-android emoji--disappointed" style="height:23px;width:auto;vertical-align:middle" title=":(" alt="😞" /></p>]]></description><link>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/dc288e0b-8343-4eee-ab36-076c089d16f6/fun-language-deep-dive.</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 20:40:05 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/dc288e0b-8343-4eee-ab36-076c089d16f6.rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:19:39 GMT</pubDate><ttl>60</ttl></channel></rss>